Facts about the Baltimore Branch of the Federal Reserve
1. The Baltimore Fed is the tenth largest check processor in the Federal
Reserve System.
2. The Baltimore Fed processes an average of 30,000 return checks per day or 7.5 million checks annually.
3. The Baltimore Fed received $10,017,182.000 in currency in 1997.
4. The Baltimore Fed destroyed $2,449,590,000 in damaged currency in 1997.
5. The Federal Reserve provides accounting services to 170 financial institutions in Maryland, parts of West Virginia.
FEDERAL RESERVE
MYTHS
A. THE FEDERAL RESERVES CONTROL INTEREST RATES
THE FED ACTUALLY ONLY CONTROLS THE DISCOUNT RATE
THE FED CAN INFLUENCE RATES
B. THE MORTGAGE AND LONG TERM BOND RATES ARE SET BY THE FED.
WRONG IN FACT THE FED ACTUALLY INTERVENED IN THE 30 YEAR BOND MARKET BACK AROUND 1981 IT WAS A FAILURE.
C. WHENEVER THE ECONOMY IS IN TROUBLE THE FED SHOULD LOWER RATES.
D. ALAN GREENSPAN IS THE MOST IMPORTANT FACTOR IN DETERMINING THE THE HEALTH OF THE ECONOMY AND FINANCIAL MARKETS.
E. LOWERING INTEREST RATES IS ALWAYS GOOD FOR THE ECONOMY.